“Jaswant Singh‘s expulsion means very little for the BJP or its politics. If it has any significance, it is symbolic. It sends a message to the ageing leadership of the party to abandon ambition, retire gracefully and, maybe, write more books.

“Neither is it about a book nor about the book’s portrayal of Jinnah. Rather it is an assertion by the RSS that while it perceives the BJP not as its life-breath but merely an inspired organisation, everyone ought to be told who determines the orthodoxy….

“The only way out for the BJP is to split. A section of the party has to say goodbye to the wise old men from Nagpur and find a less fraught alternative than Hindutva. Periodic allegiance to Hindutva no longer finds resonance with the voters nor does it help with the allies.”